025: Clarity of Mind
Clarity Isn’t Found in Control—It’s Found in Presence
✨Weekly Insight
Finding Strength in the Empty Space
Alcohol once served as my go-to filler—covering awkward silences, masking feelings of emptiness in social situations, and drowning out the persistent voice telling me I wasn’t enough. When I chose sobriety, that support disappeared, and I had no choice but to face what I’d been avoiding.
Instead of running, I learned to sit with the discomfort—the despair, shame, loneliness, and doubt. I stopped reaching for distractions and started reaching for my breath. I questioned my thoughts rather than believing them automatically.
The difficult emotions still come, but now I know they pass. Sobriety isn’t about filling the void with something else—it’s about releasing the need to fill it at all. Standing in that empty space, fully present with whatever arises, I’ve discovered something unexpected: my own strength. And in that strength, I know I’ll be okay.
✍🏻Essays
10 Pain Points of Sobriety: A Weekly Series Exploring the Struggles of Quitting Alcohol
The hardest parts of sobriety aren't what people tell you. Over the next 10 weeks, I'm going deep into the real struggles—from the anxiety that doesn't disappear to the identity you have to rebuild from scratch. Each week reveals an uncomfortable truth and the practices that make transformation possible.
💡Disrupt the Pattern
Episode 002 - Disrupt the Pattern
Disrupt the Pattern helps creative professionals break the alcohol cycle that keeps you from addressing the real areas blocking your creativity—feeling blocked, drained, or hidden. Each episode uses a randomized question generator to spark real-time reflection—no scripts, no planning, just honest exploration of what’s potentially blocking your creative …
🎙️Clear Conversations: Creative Minds in Sobriety
Episode 24 with Alicia Cook on October 30 at 2p EST.
I’m excited to sit down with Alicia Cook for our next episode. Alicia is the poet behind “Stuff I’ve Been Feeling Lately,” “Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back,” and two other collections that have reached millions. Her advocacy began after losing her 19-year-old cousin to a heroin overdose – instead of letting grief consume her, she transformed it into powerful writing about how addiction devastates entire families, not just users.
In our conversation, we’ll explore how grief becomes creativity, her unique “poetry mixtape” format that structures books like albums, writing from the perspective of loved ones affected by addiction, finding courage to tackle the hardest subjects, and how her creative voice has evolved from 2016 to 2024. This is for anyone who’s wondered how to turn pain into purpose or use their voice to help others feel less alone.
🌟 More From This Week
I’m currently away in Dubai this week, visiting my personal trainer. I have multiple coaches - one for my health and fitness, one for my business and spiritual growth. Having this type of accountability provides structure and support that fuels my sobriety practice.
The vibrancy and growth of this city are truly remarkable. Sobriety makes this experience what it is, being fully present to enjoy every single moment and feel the vitality from it all.
P.S. You can view past newsletter editions here.
Ready To Go Deeper?
🎯 Alcohol may be quietly impacting your creative potential.
Below is a 5-minute quiz that reveals exactly how it’s affecting your specific creative expression—and how alcohol might be maintaining it.
🧐 You may already know alcohol could be impacting your creative potential.
Each step forward is an act of becoming the person you want to be.
Thank you for being here.
Josh